Dear Ranger Rick
by TeamAustin
Summary: It took Lucas one letter to realize why she left, to realize the truth, and to realize how he's such an idiot. It's too late anyway. Maya/Lucas. Lucaya.
1. 12th Of January 2020 - Prologue

**A/N:** **I would like to tell you that I'm not a native English speaker and I'm the kind of person who searches a word to check if it's correct or not. (Confident, huh?) so excuse me if I wrote something grammatically incorrect, etc.**

 **PLEASE review! That helps me conquer my 'Writer's Block' and it makes me really happy and it just gives the overwhelming feeling of how writing is awesome. I hope you enjoy this story.**

 **Sorry I wasted your time. Haha x**

* * *

 _Crack._

 _And another one._

"Couldn't we just wait until dawn?" He murmured.

"No, I'm worried." Riley said.

"She's eighteen for God's sake."

"She's eighteen but she didn't answer my calls nor my texts, I haven't seen her in a week and I know that girl enough to realize when something's wrong." Riley said it all in a single breath so Farkle had no choice but to sigh in defeat and nod.

 _Crack._

I lifted one foot from the emergency stairs to stop this cracking noise but it was almost impossible as I can barely see anything. It was coal black and Riley's flashlight was the only thing that guided us at the moment.

"I'm anxious too." I admitted. It's been a while since we last saw Maya, she'd become so distant and none of us could think of a proper reason. We barely interacted since graduation, I didn't even know she moved out two weeks ago until Riley told me. I kind of thought we were getting along now I'm just doubting it. Come to think of it, She stopped showing up at the bakery for a few weeks and gradually, she stopped replying to our texts.

"Her window's open." Riley said as she crawled inside, me following her.

"Maya?" I called out as soon as I entered. When Farkle turned the lights on, I was in shock. Everything was a mess. Her bed was unmade, piles of clothes were everywhere, her art books were scattered all across the floor as if a hurricane hit her room. "Is she even here?"

"I don't think so." Farkle said, exiting her bedroom, followed by the rest of us. The rest of her apartment was neat but you could easily tell that this place was empty and that no one's staying here. He walked a few steps ahead of us.

"Where on earth is she?" Riley asked. I shrugged, my eyes travelling all around her apartment, scanning each object I can see to believe what was going on.

This couldn't be real. She can't just disappear off the face of the earth.

"The front door was left open." Farkle appeared again.

Riley's eyes were wide open "She's gone." A few seconds passed in silence. "We really need to find anything." She said.

"Why don't we ask her neighbors? Farkle looked at her "Maybe they know something." He asked. Riley nodded, sighing as she walked her way out of the apartment.

"Lucas, you coming?" Riley turned to me. I shook my head no "I think I'll be staying here." I said "I'll try and find something."

When Riley and Farkle left the apartment, I started walking around. I am pretty sure that her room is too messy to find anything in so I just started wandering around the place. I looked at her kitchen's counter and I found an unfinished cup of coffee, beside it was a crumpled piece of paper.

I started walking towards the counter and took hold of the white paper I found, I straightened it with my left hand's palm as much as I could so that I could read what was written inside it.

 _Dear Ranger Rick,_

 _You and I both know how I'm such a sarcastic human being s_ _o you know how_ _hard this is for me, right?_

 _I don't like writing, I never will._

 _Meeting you was the worst thing that ever happened to me. You, Texas charmer, walked inside the big city when we were just 7th graders. You made friends within the first week of your arrival and my best friend was already crushing on you. And because I'm a Clutterbucket and Clutterbuckets always have to fuck things up. I fucked up and had to like you. Out of all the people I have ever met in my life, I had to like YOU._

 _Everybody knows that you and Riley are the next Cory and Topanga. Even I_ _know that and that's what hurts the most. My role in Riley's life is to be the most loyal best friend I could ever be because she gave me so much and my loyalty is what she took back. My role is being her maid of honor when you two get married. My role is being the godmother of your future child. That's what everybody expects. I can't veer off the script and like you. That's the most dreadful action somebody could ever do to a person like her._

 _And It's too much, watching you two together become the perfect couple, watching everyone becoming successful and I'm still the Maya you met back when we were 13. Riley liked you and you liked her while I liked a guy who was 3 years older than me and didn't like me back. And when I finally grew up and moved on, I had to like my best friend's boyfriend. Perfect plot for a cliche movie._

 _I thought I was different. I thought I was the only girl that has met you and didn't fall for you and I swear on god I spent nights, trying to convince myself that you are a terrible person, trying fall out of love with you. But what can I say? You're a beau._

 _The point is (because I'm rambling), you and Riley are meant to be together. I'm not in this romantic love story. And New York is a place for successful people, not Clutterbuckets. That's why I'm now trying to find a place where I can proudly be one._

 _Riley, if you're the one reading this, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for being the worst best friend. I'm sorry for every second I thought of your Ranger Rick. I'm sorry that I left. You guys would never understand what I went through for the past few years. And congratulations, you moved in with him. Don't you ever pick up a southern accent though._

 _Because you two are perfect and I'm not._

 _And because my love life is sabotaged._

 _Yours dearly,_

 _A Clutterbucket._

It took me a few seconds after reading this to recap what she wrote. Everything was spinning around me. If this was just another day, Maya would suddenly appear, followed by Riley and Farkle, to tell me that this is just a prank and that I'm not her type. But today is the day she left. Riley's freaking out, Farkle's confused, I am devastated. This was definitely not a prank.

And how I'm whispering that this isn't true is freaking me out. I never thought that I'd wake up on a day that 'our' game would be over.

Yet it happened.

"Lucas." Riley's voice made me jump in surprise. My thoughts were interrupted but as soon as I heard her voice, the hand that was holding the paper had stuffed it into my pocket. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." I quickly said. "I'm just trying to convince myself that it's not a nightmare or something." I scoffed. She didn't reply.

"The neighbors know nothing. They haven't seen her in a few days." Farkle soon joined in, I rolled my eyes, we all saw it coming.

"Riley, what's wrong?" When I looked at her, she turned her back on me. I couldn't see her face but I am certain that I heard her sobbing. "Riley, it's okay." I said as I walked closer to her.

"No it's not." She yelled, tears streaming down her face. "Didn't she put in mind how her sudden disappearance would hurt us? Would hurt me?"

"Maybe she had to leave." Farkle said.

"She could have at least told me why." Riley faced him. "I would never judge her for anything. We were best friends." I gave Riley a hug because I'm guessing she needed one. She let herself cry as soon as I hugged her which proves that I guessed correctly. Farkle let out a sigh and closed his eyes.

She pulled away "I'm sorry." She whispered as she wiped away the tears she just cried.

A few minutes later, an irritating silence was alive in the room we were standing in but then Farkle looked at me.

"Anything noticeable here?"

"No."

* * *

 **A/N: I know, it's short, it sucks but here's to nothing. I was thinking that I could turn it into a story if this chapter earned a certain number of reviews. I kind of like the plot but I'm not sure if you guys like the way I write.**

 **So REVIEW please? xx**


	2. 15th Of April 2016

**A/N: If you made it to the the 2nd chapter then don't forget to review! xx**

* * *

"Lucas?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think she'll come back?" She whispered. That's the first thing she said since we arrived. I couldn't see her face since I was staring at everything but her. We laid on our bed, we stayed in this position and silence since we came back home. I didn't like it. I wanted to talk about her disappearance because I'm certain that we are all confused. No one likes that feeling. Especially when you find a letter from the missing girl, confessing her feelings for you. That's not as interesting as it seems.

"She must come back." I lied through gritted teeth but I can tell that that's what she wanted to hear. Come to think of it, that's what I wanted to hear too. That's what everybody wants to hear. Convincing yourself a bunch of lies because you are too weak to handle the truth. "We're her only family." I added.

 _She will come back._

 _She must come back._

 _'We're her only family.'_

No she won't.

"I already miss her." She said, her voice tone getting heavier.

"Me too."

Her breathing was starting to even and when I looked back at her. Riley was sleeping peacefully. That sight drew a smile on my face. At some point, my eyes traveled from the brunette to the picture of the four us that was on the dresser next to me. Here goes the smile. I kept staring at it. That was day of my first high school play. The day we accidentally kissed. We were just freshmen.

15th of April 2016.

* * *

 _"We're off in 30 minutes. This is a matter of life and death to me so I want everybody to take this seriously." The director said. Although he was just a socially outcasted senior, he knew how to tense anyone. I kept wiping my sweaty hands at my purple vest. "You." He pointed at me "You're the leading character. One mistake and everything is ruined."_

 _"Y-...Alright." I mumbled._

 _"Good luck everyone. I'm counting on you." He said as he started walking away._

 _"Lucas, hi" Riley walked up to me._

 _"Hi" I smiled. "Are you ready?"_

 _"Almost. I'm waiting for Sarah to help me with my make up." She smiled nervously._

 _"Well.." I said "I'm sure you'll be a great Jasmine."_

 _"Thanks." Riley blushed "I better go, 30 minutes is not enough for a freshmen to get ready for her first high school play." And she walked away. When I started walking around the backstage area, I suddenly remembered that I left the most important prop for my role in the dressing room, my red fez. My character would not be recognized without it so I ran towards the boys dressing room which was probably empty since everyone is backstage, waiting for the play to start._

 _"Looking for something?" I jumped in surprise as soon as I heard her voice. When I turned around, Maya was standing behind me, wearing the red fez that I was searching for. When my hand reached her hair to grab the fez, she took a step back. "No not yet. I want to wear it for a while."_

 _"Yes m'am." I quietly said._

 _"You didn't tip your imaginary hat." She frowned "Are you okay?"_

 _"I'm fine, just nervous I guess."_

 _"Why?" Maya asked. "You've done it before, you nailed it back then."_

 _"My first play in this school, you know how hard it is for freshmen and stuff." I shrugged "You're lucky you didn't sign up for the play."_

 _"Not my thing." She said "So, Aladdin huh?"_

 _"Yeah." I chuckled. "Zay's the genie."_

 _"That director is a genius." She laughed "And Riley would make a pretty good Jasmine." She then found a copy of the script on the floor, she picked it up and started reading._

 _"Let's make some magic! So how about it. What is it you want most?" She read one of the genie's lines, her tone not changing, typical Maya. I remember this line, that's when I make my first wish._

 _"Well there's this girl.." I start off, my hands running through my hair. I wouldn't mind rehearsing one last time._

 _"Wrong!" Maya interrupts just in time "I can't make any fall in love, remember?" She raised an eyebrow, starting to get into her character. Zay's character._

 _"Oh, but Genie" I whine. "She's smart and fun and..-"_

 _"Pretty?" She smirks as she starts walking closer to me._

 _"Beautiful." I smile. "She's got these eyes that are just..." And when I'm looking at Maya she's getting closer but unsurprisingly, I didn't stop talking. "And this hair, wow... and her smile."_

 _"Ami. C'est l'amour." She says fluently. And that's when we stopped acting. And that's when she leaned in. And that's when we first kissed. I had this strange feeling when our lips touched. It was different. One thing I learned lately, different is good._

 _"I didn't know that the genie was supposed to kiss Aladdin." I said as I pulled away and Maya laughed. This time, I was the one who leaned in and kissed her, her hands messing up my hair, my hands wrapped around her waist. I was too afraid then to say that it was perfect._

 _"Aladdin?" That's when the sophomore who is playing Jafar came inside, causing Maya and I to part away. She was the one smirking and I was the one whose cheeks turned red. "The play starts in 10." I took the fez from Maya, walked outside without saying a single word to her and headed towards the stage._

 _The play turned out to be a piece of a cake. Most actors were well rehearsed and those who weren't have saved themselves professionally. I looked at Riley, this was 'our' scene._

 _"Goodnight my handsome prince." Riley said._

 _"Sleep well, princess." I replied and that's when we had no choice but to kiss and I could hear Mr. Matthews's gasp even when I'm standing onstage. And when I pulled away, I turned my head to my face the crowd, I was happy that they were all smiling but then I saw a face staring back at us both from backstage._

 _It was Maya. Her expression was blank._

* * *

I sighed when I remembered how her expression was. I was a complete jerk. It's funny how you remember all the little things when it's too late. I looked at the sleeping brunette who was laying next to me. And I stood up, changed into a pair of dark jeans and my jacket. I grabbed my phone and the apartment's key from the coffee table. And I went outside.

The sun was just starting to rise, putting in mind that we came back home from Maya's at 3 am. But it was so cold that I regretted not wearing my coat. I breathed out vapor which is something I always liked since I was kid. I kept rolling my eyes whenever I think of her. Because It made me realize how I didn't act like a gentleman back then. I walked inside 'Topanga's' bakery because I realized that I was starving. And that last person I wanted to see was standing right in front of me. Her mother.

"Lucas, good morning." She smiled.

"Good morning Ms. Hart." I smiled back.

"Would you like something to order?" She asked. "You're early, you get to eat it when it's fresh."

"I would love to eat a warm bagel in this weather." I said "Please." I added.

"Sure." Ms. Hart went inside went inside to bring it for me and she came back within a few minutes. When I received the bagel and sat down, ready to eat, she sat down in front of me. "Where's my daughter?" She asked, nice yet so direct.

"What do you mean where is she?" I asked, as if I'm a fool.

"She doesn't answer my calls anymore, I never see her here." She said. "Do you know something?"

I gulped "No." I looked at the concerned woman that was opposing me. "I don't know anything at all."

"Okay then.." She stood up, It was pretty obvious how I'm such a terrible liar. I ruined it. "Have a good day, Mr. Friar" She walked away. I sighed and placed my head in my hands. Everything is a mess.

I unlocked my phone and kept scrolling through the 18 messages that I have sent to Maya since her disappearance. They were all full of 'Where are you?' and 'Please tell why are you doing this?'. It annoyed me how they were all marked as 'read' but she didn't reply to any of them. I snickered softly as I wrote one last text.

 **From: Lucas Friar**

 **To: Maya x**

 **Do you remember when we kissed before my first high** **school play?**

 **\- Ranger Rick**

A few seconds later.

 **From: Maya x**

 **To: Lucas Friar**

 **How can I forget that?**

And I smiled.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Okay so I'm really apologizing about how terrible this chapter is. It's just... this week is all about the finals and I can't manage my time between studying and updating. The chapters will be longer when finals end.**_

 _ **So I'll be only updating when I notice that you guys are reviewing which means that you are requesting for more because I'm really insecure about my writings and your reviews motivate me.**_

 _ **16 reviews for the first chapter chapter? That's amazing :D**_

 _ **Plus, do you like the idea of having Flashbacks full of Lucaya moments? Lucas will start to search for his blonde.**_

 _ **So please REVIEW xx**_

 _ **P.S: A red fez is the red hat that Aladdin wears (I'm sure you all know that).**_


	3. 29th Of September 2017

**A/N: Read and review!**

* * *

I quietly opened my apartment's door, hoping not to wake her up.

I bet that I looked like an idiot as I tiptoed my way to our room. I couldn't help but notice how everything was neat, unlike the way I left it this morning.

"Good morning."

"Woah." I jumped in surprise, turning around to see Riley, crossing her arms, smirking at the sight of what I was doing.

"Sneaking out while I'm asleep?" She said.

"Breakfast. I was quite hungry" My face relaxed. I sat down on the couch after I took off my jacket. "I didn't want to wake you up."

"Awww." She smiled. "Yet leave a note or something, I was worried."

"Of course." I smiled. She sat down next to me so I placed my arm around her warm body. "It was cold outside by the way."

"The weather forecast said that there's a chance of snow for the next few days so I expected that." Riley said. I nodded in agreement. "It's New York, it must be cold." I snickered. Silence filled the room shortly after our awkward weather conversation.

"Enough about the weather." Riley looked at me, her smile gradually disappearing.

"Well, what do you want to talk about?" I asked.

"Maya." She said.

"She's gone Riley, what do we have to talk about?" I unwrapped my arm away from her shoulders and seriously looked at her. "There's nothing we can do. It was her decision not ours."

"Lucas, we're her friends!" She raised her voice. Great, the fight has begun. "You don't give up that easily. At least, not on the same day"

I couldn't face Riley, I already knew how mad she is.

"Out of all the people who were close to Maya, I never expected you to be the first to quit." She stood up and quickly walked her to the bedroom, leaving me alone. I heard nothing but my long sighs. What the hell did I just say about Maya? I sounded like I was never a friend of hers. I'm guessing that it was a consequence to my confusion for the past few hours.

I stood up to go and apologize to Riley but I realized that it would be useless so I sat down again on the couch. (I hoped that) She'll calm down in a while.

I noticed a box, placed next to the couch. Earlier this week, Riley mentioned something about 'getting rid of the junk'. I bent down and grabbed it. 'High School Memories' was written above it. It was obvious that this belongs to Riley since it was written in a bubbly font. I chuckled at the brunette's attempt then opened the box. The first thing that caught my eye was a neat, paper, written on it:

 _Farkle's party._

 _You're lucky, you're invited._

 _29th of September 2017_

 _be there at 9 or miss the_

 _party of your life._

Typical Farkle.

I laughed as I read the invitation, remembering what happened that day.

29th of September 2017.

The day when all of us realized that we were young. Surprisingly, it was the best party ever. Let's say we all had quite a good time.

* * *

 _"You couldn't find a better name?" Maya said as she finished reading it._

 _"Can you suggest anything better than my name on top of the invitation?" Farkle smirked._

 _"No." She sarcastically shook her head._

 _"Farkle, since when do you throw parties?" I asked._

 _"Since Zay told me that it will increase my popularity by approximately 53.7 percent." Farkle smiled then raised an eyebrow at me. I raised my hands in surrender._

 _"Yeah." Zay high fived Farkle._

 _"Farkle, if this party stars at 9, when will it be over?" Riley innocently asked._

 _"I don't know." Farkle shrugged. "When will it be over Zay?"_

 _"I don't know." He shrugged, smiling. "It is a party, we'll probably be staying up all night." I could easily tell that Zay was the really enthusiastic about this. Riley's mouth was O shaped._

 _"Sweetie, we don't have to go." Maya pouted, patting Riley's head._

 _"But I want to." Riley suddenly grinned._

 _._

 _._

 _I was shocked by the number of people inside Farkle's place. I caught a glimpse of Zay and walked towards him, gently pushing people out of my way to reach the guy._

 _"Did_ _you ever imagine Farkle throwing a successful party?" Zay said as soon I stood beside him. I shook my head no. There's was no sign of Riley though. It'd be a miracle if I was able to find her in this crowd. "He's over there talking to a girl. A real one." Zay chuckled, pointing at Farkle. He then continued talking._

 _I didn't pay any attention to this conversation, I found myself staring at the blonde who was in the middle of the dance floor (Farkle's living room). She was dancing like there's no tomorrow. She caught everybody's attention, including mine. I couldn't help but notice how a few jocks were staring at her. Somehow, someway, that didn't please me. I had the urge to walk up to them and tell them to back off. But they did nothing wrong. My illusions sometimes get the best of me._

 _Delusional._

 _"Dude, just dance with her." Zay blurted out._

 _"What?"_

 _"You're staring at her." He said._

 _"I am." I muttered._

 _"Go and dance with her." Zay said._

 _"No."_

 _"Why?"_

 _"I don't know how to dance." I hissed. He laughed at me._

 _"Okay then." Zay shrugged. "Let's stay here and wait till some other guy sweeps her off her feet, that's cool with me." He smirked. I glared at him then sighed. I eventually walked over to her._

 _"I hope you don't mind me dancing with you." I said as soon as I reached her._

 _"You feeling lonely Huckleberry?" She smirked as she swayed her hips to the beat, me trying to catch up with her._

 _"I was." I smiled. The warmth between us kept growing as we danced to a fast beat, I'm already starting to feel the sweat on my forehead. We moved in sync (I was trying my best though) and I can't deny how I'm enjoying it. I let her take the lead. She speeds up her moves as the beat speeds up. She slows down when the beat softens. My heartbeats were strong and fast, just like our moves. Each step I took matched hers. And every time I look at the girl in front of me, I can't help but smile._

 _I am suddenly alert by the people's cheers, I noticed that everyone was watching us. I continued to follow up with Maya, wishing that this song would never end, we would just stay like this._

 _We got the point where Maya was so close to me that our hands were touching as we danced. Her blonde hair was covering her face but I could easily see her sparkling eyes and a blush you can only see when you squint. She looked up at me._

 _"You're too tall." She whined. I laughed, continuing to dance, I never thought that this would be so easy but I didn't know how she felt. I'm feeling insecure about what I'm doing right now, probably nervous. Maybe they were cheering for 'her' because she's Maya Hart. Damn it, I'm really trying to please her. I looked at her._

 _"I am such a terrible dancer." I admitted._

 _"You're okay." She said. "I do appreciate the effort though."_

 _"Thanks."_

 _"No problem." She smirked._ _And the beat stopped._

 _And so did my heartbeat._

* * *

The doorbell rang.

I groaned as I headed towards the door. Farkle was standing in front of me when I opened the door. Just when I was about to invite him in, he looked at me, eyes wide open, and said "I have a plan."

"About?"

"Finding Maya."

"Okay?-" I said. He let himself in before I could even question about his plan.

"Riley?" He called out as soon as he entered. The brunette appeared shortly after he called her name.

"Farkle." She quietly muttered.

"I'm not going to ask you about your miserable appearance, I'm going straight to the point." He said, sitting down on the couch while Riley and I are standing in front of him as if we were his employees. "We only need one thing to find her."

"Which is?" Riley asked.

"Maya's laptop."

"You've got to be kidding me..." She scoffed.

"I can access everything we need just by simply opening it." He said.

"And why is that necessary?" I looked at Farkle.

"You need a mean of transportation to leave New York, she might have booked it online." He explained.

"Or," Riley interrupted. "she didn't."

"The browser she used has to have history, cookies, etc." He pointed out. "She must have used the internet somehow before she left." He pointed out. "It will be useful, trust me" He said. "I'll use a data recovery system, I'll unlock cache files. Nothing is gone for good."

I sensed how Riley was putting it in consideration. I was too.

"Listen you guys," Farkle was completely serious right now. "We can either go back to Maya's apartment, get her laptop and we can find out where she went." He said "Or we can go on with our lives and pretend that we never knew someone named 'Maya Penelope Hart'."

"I'm in." Riley said without hesitation.

"Lucas?"

"I-We need to find her."

* * *

 **A/N: SORRY for the late update and the lame chapter! Fortunately,** **My finals are finally over and I'll be able to update more frequently. I know how this chapter sucks. The flashback was dreadful.**

 **28 Reviews for 2 chapters! AAAAAA**

 **Review please! The more you guys review, the faster I update. And I really want to know what do you guys think xx**


	4. 7th Of December 2015

**A/N: 4th Chapter. Read and review please.**

* * *

 _Crack._

Here we go again. Climbing up Maya's emergency staircase. Riley was ahead of me. Farkle was behind me, whining about how hot it is; Riley dragged at us to Maya's apartment just as the clock stroke noon. The same scenery repeating itself for the second time.

"Couldn't we just wait until sun goes down." He murmured.

"Listen Farkle, you brought us here, you said that her laptop is a crucial matter in the process of finding her, and you said that we shouldn't leave her behind. And I'm as tired and sweaty as you are, so you really need to... be quiet." Riley glared at the shorter guy. Farkle had no choice but to sigh in defeat and nod. I chuckled as I raised my eyebrows at the brunette, referring to last night.

"Oh." She smiled. We laughed at ourselves, taking advantage of the moment, something to cheer us up.

"You know," Farkle said as Riley crawled through Maya's window. "we kind of look like burglars."

"We don't look like burglars." Riley said as soon as she entered the room. "There are innocent people who crawl through windows, then hack a laptop to track their missing best friend."

"There aren't." I half smiled.

"Oh, then we do look like burglars."

"Here's her laptop." Farkle pointed at the messy desk behind me. He grabbed the laptop and sat down on the bed, which Riley and I soon sat down on too. He pressed the power button, his eyes excited and curious, but they soon turned back dull when a password was asked.

"Don't tell me that you thought that her laptop was password free." Riley glared at him.

"I did." He said. Riley groaned in frustration.

"Now what?" I asked.

"I'll take the laptop home with me so that I can crack it." He sighed. "Unless, someone knows the password." He looked at Riley.

"What? I don't know it, I swear." She raised her hands in surrender.

"You sure?" Farkle stared at her. "She told you everything, you two were coherent. Ring Power?"

"Do you think that I'd still keep her password a secret even when we are trying to find her?" She said, Farkle sighed and was about to close the laptop screen, but she grabbed the laptop from Farkle. "I want to give it a shot though."

"Now, focus." Farkle looked at Riley, she nodded. He pointed to the laptop. "Something Maya would think of."

"Cookie Crumble Ice Cream?" Riley asked. Farkle snorted then face palmed. She glared at him. "I'm not kidding, that's her favorite ice cream flavor!" Without hesitation, she typed in what she thought of. _CookieCrumbleIceCream._

 **Incorrect password.**

"See?" He said, grabbing the laptop back from Riley. "Listen, I am the one who will be typing passwords."

"No way, you aren't the best friend here." She snatched it again from Farkle.

"Well, you aren't the smartest here." He somehow took hold of the laptop once again.

Riley gasped. "How dare you?" She then attempted to take the laptop back from Farkle. I sighed and stood up, exiting her bedroom, leaving them as they are. I realized that we're going nowhere as long as they're acting like this.

I can still hear groans and yells from Maya's bedroom as I sat down on an old, intolerable couch. It wasn't a few seconds until I caught a glimpse of a frame on the ground, behind her T.V. I stood up then took a few steps to the small, squared television. I held the frame, lifted it up, then placed it back on the wall. Right above the T.V.

I sat down again on the couch, and kept staring at the photo that was directly in front of me. The photo that was inside the dark wooden frame. The photo that I just hanged once again on the wall. The photo that included all of us. The Matthews, Shawn, Katy, Eric, Josh, Farkle, and I.

Riley's 14th birthday. No one can possibly forget that day.

8th of December 2015.

But it wasn't that day that could remind of Maya once again. Prior to Riley's birthday, Maya and I somehow spent the day together. We did enjoy it.

7th of December 2015.

* * *

 _"I'm the worst best friend ever."_

 _"No you aren't. We all forget important events in our lives, it normal." I said. She shook her head in disagreement as she chewed her lunch._

 _"You can never forget your best friend's birthday." She slammed her fork on the table and started doing weird gestures with both of her hands, glaring at me. "She gave me a freaking ring for my 14th birthday."_

 _"Maya-"_

 _"I'm the worst best friend ever."_

 _"You still have plenty of time." I told her. "You'll buy her a present by then."_

 _"12 hours are not enough to buy Riley a present!" She accidentally raised her voice and when she realized that she caught the attention of a few students in the cafeteria, she lowered her head and mumbled a few words that I hardly understood. "I don't know what to do, did you buy her something?" I recapped what she said a few moments later._

 _"Yes, I did." I said. Maya didn't reply, which I took as a sign to keep talking. "I bought her a jewelry box, with her first initials engraved on top of it."_

 _"That's actually very sweet." Maya half smiled. "Farkle?"_

 _"He bought her that Makeup kit, the one that she was drooling over." I chuckled._

 _"She'll like that." Maya said._

 _"Mr. Matthews won't though." I laughed, she snickered in awareness of his reaction._

 _"Great, now I can't show up with something lame." She said, eyes on her lunch, her fork scattering the mashed potato all over the plate._

 _"Hey, If it makes you feel any better," I half smiled. She looked up at me. "I'd like to go shopping with you today. You can buy her something nice."_

 _"I don't need you Huckleberry to help me buy my best friend a gift." She quickly replied._

 _"Okay then." I said, ending our conversation. The Bell rang, just in time. I stood up and walked towards my locker, opening it, pulling out my World History book, that's when I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was her again._

 _"Yes m'am?"_

 _"Maybe... I could use some help." Her eyes on the floor, not facing me. Low voice. Blonde hair covering up her face. "Just because you're a gentleman and I know that you'll carry the present all the way back to my house." She said. "And because you're good at choosing gifts and I do want to guarantee Riley the best birthday present so..."_

 _"I'll see you after school?" I asked._

 _"I'll see you after school."_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _"I hate malls."_

 _"I know."_

 _"I am not good at choosing gifts."_

 _"I know."_

 _"So, any ideas?" She looked at me._

 _I shrugged. "Not yet."_

 _"There is this DVD collection of 'Red Planet Diaries' but I'm not sure if she'd like it." Maya sighed as she showed me the bunch of DVDs in her hand. "She watched all the episodes anyway." She rolled her eyes. "We_ _can go to Demolition. Lots of nice stuff over there."_

 _"No." I shook my head. "More clothes? I don't think of clothes as a proper birthday present."_

 _"Okay then, Sundance" She scoffed as she dropped the DVD collection, crossing her arms. "I want some ideas."_

 _"How about... you buy her an accessory?" I suggested, pointing at the small, accessories kiosk. "Earrings, bracelets..."_

 _"Maybe..." She already started walking towards the kiosk that I mentioned. I tried to catch up with her. A middle aged woman with a plastered smile on her face looked at both of us as soon as we reached the kiosk._

 _"Welcome to Glamour's, what can I help you with?" The woman asked._

 _"We are just looking around." Maya shrugged, as I'm politely smiling back at the woman. Maya was checking out one of the earrings, she turned it down as soon as she checked the price tag. I eventually started looking around too. A silver necklace caught my attention, heart shaped, with a keyhole in the middle on the necklace. I checked the price. $60 was a reasonable price._

 _"Hey Maya." I said, she looked up at me, hopefully. I smiled "I think I found something suitable as a present."_

 _"Where is it?" She walked over to me. I handed her the necklace I was holding. She shrugged. "It's... okay."_

 _"Okay?"_

 _"I do appreciate the effort." She smirked as she walked up to the middle aged employee. "We'll buy this."_

 _"Wise choice." She (fake) smiled. "That'll be sixty dollars, please." Maya paid her the money, and was about to leave, that was until the employee called on her. "Excuse me miss, I noticed that you were staring at a certain bracket." The employee walked over to where Maya was standing._

 _"No It's okay, I'm not here to-" Maya protested, but she stopped when the employee placed the bracelet around her arm._

 _"It looks beautiful on you." The older woman (fake) smiled once again._

 _"It does." I said._

 _"Yes." Maya smiled for a split second. "But I'm just here to buy a birthday present. Thanks though" She handed the bracelet back to the employee, who frowned as Maya took the bracelet off. The blonde walked over to me. "Let's go Huckleberry? Mission accomplished."_

 _"Sure. Mission accomplished."_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _"Excuse me, is this bracelet still for sale?" I politely smiled._

 _"Of course, it is." She said._

 _"I'd like to buy it." I said without hesitation, handing the woman the money. She handed me the bracelet. When you look at it closely, you see its beauty. A chained bracelet, with starfishes and pearls gravitating from the bracelet._

 _"Your girlfriend didn't want to buy it earlier though." The worker said. I concluded that she was talking about Maya. I ignored the reference._

 _I nodded. "Yeah, I know. It's kind of a surprise."_

 _"Anyway, here's your change." She handed me a few coins. "Thank you for shopping at Glamour's."_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Still and quiet._

 _That was me climbing up Maya's emergency staircase, hoping that Katy and Gammy weren't home, hoping that no one I know would see me. The lights were on in her room. I placed the bracelet and a small, white piece of paper signed by 'Mad Dog' in front of the window and knocked on her window as loud as I can._

 _Rapid and loud._

 _That was me running down the staircase, hoping that Maya will see only what I left in front of her window, not the cowboy who was running down an emergency staircase, looking like an idiot in Downtown New York. When my feet touched the ground, I took a deep breath, gasping for air, and started heading towards the subway station._

 _I received a text a few minutes later, as I'm waiting for the subway train to arrive._

 ** _From: Maya x_**

 ** _You'll never seem like a Mad Dog to me._**

 _Mission accomplished._

* * *

All the little things are right in front of you when she is gone. I miss her. I was an asshole; I wish that I could've paid more attention to her feelings. All these moments and all these signs: the kiss, the dance, the bracelet, our little game. I sighed in guiltiness. Maybe I did like her, but I didn't notice it back then. What about now? Do-

"Lucas." Riley's voice echoed through the apartment. I stood up and walked towards the room. Riley was holding the laptop. Farkle was frowning like an eight year old kid whose mom didn't buy him the lollipop that he wanted.

"Yeah?"

"We couldn't unlock her laptop." She sighed. "Do you mind giving it a shot."

"One last shot though." Farkle rolled his eyes.

"Why not?" I walked over to where they were sitting. "even though I'm positive that Farkle will have to crack this thing." I took the laptop from Riley. I kept thinking about certain things that Maya liked. 26 initials, infinite numbers. I'll never be able to guess her password. I closed my eyes and started typing. _MadDog_.

 **Loading Password.**

 **Loading Password.**

 **Loading Password.**

 **Incorrect Password.**

Who am I kidding, I'll never seem like a Mad Dog to her.

"Ugh."

"I'll just take the laptop home with me, and when I'm doing cracking it, I'll give you a call." Farkle said, snatching the laptop from my hands, then closing its screen.

"So we're done here?" Riley asked him.

"Yeah, we're officially over with this place." He half smiled. That wasn't true; I heard a beeping sound. I'm pretty sure that we all heard it. We all walked out of her bedroom, trying to find the source of this sound. Farkle pointed at the living room, a wireless telephone was laying on a small table in the corner of the room.

"Hello?" I said as soon as I asnwered the call, being the first to reach the telephone.

"I'm sorry, do I have the wrong number?" A female voice spoke through the line.

"It depends." I said. "Who is it?"

"Is this the Hart residence?" She ignored my question, yet she gave me an answer.

"Yes, it is." I confirmed, Farkle was raising an eyebrow at me, Riley was staring, doing nothing else but watching me. "Can I at least know who am I talking to?"

"This is Missy Bradford."

* * *

 **A/N: Another lame chapter (it's long though xD). Hope you like it. Missy and Maya, what?! xD**

 **We need a lot of reviews for the next chapter. My writer's block is getting the best of me.**

 **PLEASE, read and review :)**


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